1 


S.  LIBRARY-  ^^^  •  '—"5^3, 


Q.  E. 

CONNECTICUT 


AGRICDLTURAL  EXPERIMEET  STATION 


NEW     HAVEN,     CONN. 


BULLETIN    127,    MAY,    1898. 


The   Cost   of  Plant   Food   in   Connecticut,    Spring 
Months  of  1898. 


CONTENTS. 

Page. 

Notice  as  to  Bulletins  and  Reports 2 

Trade  Values  of  Fertilizer  Elements  for  1898 3 

On  the  Purchase  of  Fertilizers 4 

On  the  Cost  of  Plant  Food  in  Conn.,  Spring  Months  of  1898 6 

Nitrogen  in  Various  Forms 6 

Phosphoric  Acid  in  Various  Forms.. 7 

Potash  in  Various  Forms _. 7 

Analyses  of  Fertilizers 8 


no.  \^qL 


Notice  as  to  Bulletins. 

The  Bulletins  of  this  Station  are  mailed  free  to  citizens  of  Con- 
necticut who  apply  for  them,  and  to  others  as  far  as  the  limited 
editions  permit. 

Applications  should  be  renewed  annually  before  January  1st. 

The  matter  of  all  the  Bulletins  of  this  Station,  in  so  far  as  it  is 
new  or  of  permanent  value,  will  be  made  part  of  the  Annual 
Report  of  the  Station  Staff. 

All  Bulletins  earlier  than  No.  71  and  Nos.  83,  86,  93,  101,  102 
and  118  are  exhausted  and  cannot  be  supplied. 


Notice  as  to  Supply  of  Station  Reports. 

The  Station  has  no  supply  of  its  Annual  Reports  for  the  years 
1877,  1878,  1879,  1880,  1881,  1882,  1883,  1887  and  1891. 

The  Annual  Report  of  this  Station,  printed  at  State  expense, 
is  by  law  limited  to  an  edition  of  7,000  copies. 

After  exchanging  with  other  Experiment  Stations  and  Agiicul- 
tural  Journals,  the  Reports  remaining  at  the  disposal  of  the 
Station  will  be  sent  to  citizens  of  Connecticut  who  shall  seasona- 
bly apply  for  them,  and  to  others  as  long  as  the  supply  lasts. 


Former  Reports  Wanted. 

There  is  frequent  call  for  our  earlier  Annual  Reports  on  the 
part  of  public  Libraries,  students,  chemists,  naturalists,  and  sta- 
tion workers. 

Persons  who  can  supply  copies  of  Reports  of  this  Station  for 
any  of  the  years  above  named,  will  be  likely  to  find  purchasers 
by  communicating  with  the  Director. 


TRADE  VALUES  OF  FERTILIZER  ELEMENTS 

FOR  1898. 

The  following  schedule  of  Trade  Values  has  been  adopted  for 
use  in  1898 : 

Cents 
per  pound. 

Nitrogen  in  ammonia  salts 14 

nitrates 13 

Organic  nitrogen,  in  dry  and  fine  ground  fish,  meat,  and  blood  and  in  mixed 

fertilizers 14 

in  cotton  seed  meal 12 

in  fine*  bone  and  tankage 13^ 

in  coarse*  bone  and  tankage 10 

Phosphoric  acid,  water-soluble .-. 4| 

citrate-solublef 4 

of  fine*  ground  fish,  bone  and  tankage 4 

of  coarse*  fish,  bone  and  tankage 3-^ 

of  cotton  seed  meal,  castor  pomace  and  ashes 4 

of  mixed  fertilizers,  if  insoluble  in  ammonium  citratef 2 

Potash  as  high  grade  sulphate  and  in  forms  free  from  muriate  (or  chlorides)       5 
as  muriate 4J 

The  foregoing  are,  as  nearly  as  can  be  estimated,  the  average 
prices  at  which,  during  the  six  months  preceding  March  last,  the 
respective  ingredients  were  retailed  for  cash,  in  our  large  markets, 
in  those  raw  materials  which  are  the  regular  source  of  supply. 

These  figures  are  used  by  the  Station  to  make  an  annual  com- 
parison of  the  brands  of  mixed  fertilizers  in  our  market,  by  show- 
ing what  would  be  the  average  cost  to  the  purchaser  of  the  quan- 
tities of  nitrogen,  phosphoric  acid  and  potash  which  each  contains, 
if  this  plant  food  were  bought  in  raw  materials  of  ready  availa- 
bility. 

For  this  purpose  the  trade  values  adopted  at  the  beginning  of 
the  year  should  be  adhered  to  as  nearly  as  possible  throughout 
the  whole  season,  so  that  all  the  brands  sold  in  a  single  season 
may  be  compared  on  a  common  basis. 

*  "Fine  "  signifies  smaller  than  -^  inch;   "coarse,"  larger  than  ^  inch. 

f  Dissolved  from  2  grams  of  the  fertilizer,  previously  extracted  with  pure  water, 
by  100  c.c.  neutral  solution  of  ammonium  citrate,  sp.  gr.  1.09,  in  30  minutes,  at 
65°  C,  with  agitation  once  in  five  minutes.  Commonly  called  "reverted"  or 
"  backgone  "  Phosphoric  Acid. 


4        CONNECTICUT   EXPERIMENT  STATION,   BULLETIN    127. 

ON  THE  PURCHASE  OF  FERTILIZERS. 

As  we  have  previously  pointed  out,  these  trade  values  are 
average  figures  and  therefore  not  strictly  applicable  to  the  »ondi- 
tions  of  any  one  farm  or  fertilizer  market,  or  of  any  one  month  in 
the  year. 

The  only  rational  way  to  buy  fertilizers — or  anything  else — is 
for  purchasers  to  make  their  own  schedule  of  valuations  immedi- 
ately before  purchasing,  thus  getting  figures  which  are  strictly 
correct  for  their  special  circumstances,  and  enable  them  to  corn- 
pare  accurately  the  different  forms  of  plant  food  offered  to  them 
with  reference  to  their  cost. 

To  illustrate :  in  the  above  schedule  the  "  trade  value  "  of  solu- 
ble phosphoric  acid  is  4^  cents,  and  of  reverted  phosphoric  acid 
4  cents — figui-es  justified  by  the  average  prices  of  plain  superphos- 
phates. But  by  getting  quotations  from  a  number  of  dealers  and 
paying  cash,  certain  farmers  have  within  the  last  two  months 
bought  available  phosphoric  acid  in  this  form  for  3.1  cents  per 
pound.  On  the  other  hand,  others  have  paid  6,8  cents  per  pound 
for  it,  in  form  of  dissolved  bone  black. 

There  is  no  known  difference  between  the  two  forms,  in  respect 
to  their  value  as  plant  food,  and  the  buyer  has  paid  in  the  one 
case  more  than  twice  as  much  for  the  same  quantity  of  plant  food 
as  in  the  other. 

If  available  phosphoric  acid  in  form  of  unmixed  goods  costs  6 
cents  per  pound,  it  may  be  cheaper  for  the  buyer  to  get  a  factory 
mixture  containing  nitrogen,  phosphoric  acid  and  potash.  If  he 
can  get  available  phosphoric  acid  for  three  cents  a  pound  it  may 
pay  him  to  do  his  own  mixing,  or  better,  perhaps,  apply  the 
chemicals  unmixed. 

The  farmer  goes  into  the  market  to  buy  plant  food  in  forms 
which  have  a  suitable  mechanical  condition  and  are  available  to 
crops,  at  as  low  a  price  as  he  can. 

The  mixed  fertilizer  has  no  special  virtue  in  it  because  of  its 
being  a  mixture.  Whether  the  forms  which  contain  the  plant 
food  are  mixed  before  application  or  not  is  a  circumstance  which 
affects  the  cost  of  application  or  the  cost  of  the  ingredients,  but 
does  not  affect  the  availability  to  crops  of  the  plant  food  itself. 
Where  fertilizers  are  applied  broadcast  it  may  often  be  cheaper 
to  apply  each  raw  material  separately,  than  to  buy  them  all  in  a 
ready-made  mixture,  or  to  prepare  a  mixture  on  the  farm. 


ON   THE    PURCHASE   OF   FERTILIZERS.  5 

No  general  rule  can  be  given,  but  the  farmers  in  any  commu- 
nity can  yearly  determine  these  things  for  themselves,  by  jointly 
securing  quotations  for  mixed  fertilizers  and  fertilizer  chemicals 
from  a  number  of  maimfacturers  and  by  buying  together. 

There  is  no  apparent  reason  why  members  of  granges  or  other 
associations  in  one  neighborhood  should  not  more  generally  com- 
bine and  secure  from  a  number  of  manufacturers  bids  for  a  con- 
siderable number  of  tons,  or  of  car  lots  even,  of  a  fertilizer  having 
a  given  guaranteed  composition,  made  from  certain  specified,  raw 
materials,  with  a  rebate  provided  for  any  failure  to  meet  the 
guarantee,  and  at  a  specified  cash  price.  This  practice,  quite 
common  in  other  States  and  adopted  to  a  limited  extent  here, 
deserves  more  attention  by  those  who  prefer  to  buy  mixed  goods 
rather  than  raw  materials. 

At  present  in  many  of  our  towns  a  large  number  of  brands, 
made  by  different  firms,  are  sold  in  small  lots  to  the  members  of 
the  neighborhood  at  prices  which  are  from  50  to  100  per  cent, 
above  the  cash  ton  price  of  the  real  plant  food  contained  in  them. 

If  it  is  granted  that  this  number  of  fertilizer  agents  is  necessary, 
that  each  of  the  brands  sold  has  a  special  merit  for  some  particu- 
lar crop,  and  if — as  is  too  often  the  case — the  seller  must  wait  six 
or  nine  months  for  his  pay,  these  prices  are  perhaps  justified. 

It  is,  however,  quite  certain  that  one,  two,  or  three  brands  at 
most,  of  concentrated  mixed  fertilizers  containing  the  best  forms 
of  plant  food — none  of  them  so-called  "  cheap  "  fertilizers — would 
perfectly  satisfy  the  agricultural  needs  of  that  community. 

It  is  also  certain  that  if  this  supply  was  made  by  one  firm 
rather  than  by  half  a  dozen  different  ones,  the  work  of  manu- 
facture and  sale  could  be  more  cheaply  done. 

Further,  it  is  certain  that  if  a  number  of  firms  made  bids  for 
doing  the  work,  a  still  further  reduction  of  cost  to  the  farmer 
could  be  made;  and  finally,  if  purchasers  would  not  call  on 
dealers  or  manufacturers  to  do  a  banking  business  for  them,  as 
well  as  a  fertilizer  business,  by  carrying  their  notes  for  three,  six 
or  nine  months,  the  cost  of  mixed  fertilizers  to  the  farmers  of  this 
State  would  be  considerably  lessened  and  the  profit  of  their  use 
correspondingly  increased. 

The  present  condition  of  the  trade  is  illustrated  by  the  follow- 
ing facts: 

In  one  town  in  this  State  there  are  forty  farmers,  each  of  whom 
uses  a  ton  or  more  of  commercial  fertilizers,  and  in  the  aggregate 


6         CONNECTICUT   EXPERIMENT   STATION,    BULLETIN    127. 

between  300  to  400  tons  are  sold.  There  are  eight  distinct  firms 
having  selling  agents  there,  but  the  number  of  brands  sold  is  not 
known. 

In  another  town  there  are  about  seventy  farmers  who  use  com. 
mercial  fertilizers.  There  are  three  resident  agents,  and  the  goods 
made  by  eleven  other  manufacturers  are  also  sold ;  the  number  of 
brands  is  considerably  larger. 

Another  correspondent  writes:  "I  know  of  only  one  agent  in 
town.  He  only  sells  to  accommodate  his  neighbors  and  to  obtain 
what  he  uses  at  somewhere  near  reasonable  cost.  He  joays  cash 
and  waits  two  years  for  his  pay.  He  is  a  fool  and  he  knows  it. 
He  is  I." 

ON  THE  COST  OF  PLANT  FOOD   IN  CONNEC- 
TICUT.    SPRINU  MONTHS  OF  1898. 

The  following  summary  contains  a  general  statement  of  the 
cost  of  plant  food  in  the  raw  materials  thus  far  examined  during 
the  present  season  in  this  State.  The  analyses  will  appear  in  the 
Station  Report  for  1898.  A  part  of  the  samples  referred  to  were 
sent  in  by  purchasers  and  a  part  were  collected  by  our  sampling 
agent. 

NITROGEN. 

NiTKATE  OF  Soda. 

The  average  retail  price  of  nitrogen  in  this  form,  calculated 
from  the  eight  samples  collected,  has  been  13.2  cents  per  pound, 
or  $42  per  ton  for  nitrate. 

In  one  case  a  purchaser  of  a  "  mixed  car  lot "  of  chemicals 
bought  for  11.7  cents  per  pound,  or  |37  per  ton  for  the  nitrate,  an 
illustration  of  the  saving  of  buying  in  quantity  and  after  secur- 
ing competitive  bids. 

Sulphate  or  Ammonia. 

A  single  sample  cost  $60  per  ton  and  contained  20.94  per  cent, 
of  nitrogen,  making  the  cost  of  nitrogen  per  pound  14.3  cents. 

Dried  Blood. 

A  single  sample  of  dried  blood,  containing  10.70  per  cent,  of 
nitrogen,  was  bought  for  $28,  making  the  cost  of  nitrogen  13.1 
cents  per  pound. 


ON   THE    COST   OF   PLANT   FOOD   IN    CONNECTICUT.  7 

Cotton  Seeb  Meal. 

This  material  is  chiefly  used  by  tobacco  growers,  but  deserves 
wider  recognition  as  a  very  cheap  and  quickly  available  form  of 
nitrogen. 

The  per  cent,  of  nitrogen  in  the  eighteen  samples  analyzed  has 
ranged  from  7.10  to  Y.97  and  has  averaged  7.45. 

The  average  cost  has  been  $21.50  per  ton  and,  allowing  four 
and  five  cents  respectively  for  the  phosphoric  acid  and  potash  in 
the  meal,  the  average  cost  of  nitrogen  has  been  1 1.4  cents  a  pound. 

Cotton  Seed  Meal  is  sold  as  a  fertilizer  chiefly  in  Hartford 
and  vicinity.  It  is  said  that  the  price  in  some  other  places,  where 
the  demand  and  competition  are  less,  is  much  higher. 

Castor  Pomace, 

Which  is,  we  believe,  used  only  by  tobacco  growers,  is  the  most 
expensive  source  of  nitrogen,  costing  $19  per  ton,  equivalent  to 
16  cents  a  pound  for  nitrogen. 

PHOSPHORIC    ACID. 
Dissolved  Bone  Black  and  Acid  Phosphate. 

At  $22  per  ton,  available  phosphoric  acid  in  form  of  dissolved 
bone  black,  costs  from  6.4  to  6.8  cents  a  pound. 

In  dissolved  rock  phosphate  ("  acid  phosphate  "),  which  is  the 
form  chiefly  used  in  commercial  mixed  fertilizers,  available  phos- 
phoric acid  costs  less,  or  about  4  cents  a  pound.  Phosphoric  acid 
in  these  two  forms  has  the  same  agricultural  value. 

POTASH. 

*  High  Grade  Sulphate. 

Two  samples,  quoted  at  $47  and  $49  for  a  ton,  contained  48.35 
and  47.90  per  cent,  of  potash,  respectively,  the  cost  of  actual 
potash  being  4.9  cents  and  5.1  ceuts  a  pound. 

Double  Sulphate  of  Potash  and  Magnesia. 

The  percentage  of  potash  in  seven  samples  ranged  from  22.22  to 
27.12,  the  cost  from  $26  to  $32  a  ton,  and  the  cost  of  actual  potash 
from  4.9  to  6.5  cents,  averaging  5.7  cents  per  pound.  In  the  sin- 
gle sample  tested  for  chlorine  there  was  found  2.32  per  cent. 


8         CONNECTICUT    EXPERIMENT   STATION,    BULLETIN    127. 

Muriate  of  Potash. 

The  percentage  of  potash  in  ten  samples  of  this  material 
ranged  from  48.77  to  53.67,  the  cost  per  ton  from  137  to  145.00, 
and  the  cost  of  actual  potash  from  3.6  to  4.4  cents,  averaging  4 
cents  per  pound. 

Carbonate  of  Potash. 
A  single  sample  of  this  material  is  a  fine,  white  granular  salt 
and  contains  64.55  per  cent,  of  actual  potash.  It  also  contains 
2.70  per  cent,  of  chlorine,  and  no  appreciable  amount  of  sulphates 
or  of  lime  or  magnesia.  It  costs  |110  per  ton,  which  is  equivalent 
to  8.5  cents  per  pound  for  the  actual  potash  in  it. 

Cotton  Hull  Ashes. 

Twenty-six  analyses  of  these  ashes  have  been  made  in  the  last 
few  months. 

They  show  the  usual  range  of  composition :  from  12.30  to  29.24 
per  cent,  of  potash  soluble  in  water,  and  from  5.36  to  14.40  per 
cent,  of  phosphoric  acid.  The  average  percentage  of  water-solu- 
ble potash  was  23,2  per  cent. 

The  price  per  ton  ranged  from  |25  to  $45  per  ton.  Allowing 
4^,  4  and  2  cents  for  the  water-soluble,  citrate-soluble  and  insolu- 
ble phosphoric  acid,  the  average  cost  per  j)ound  of  actual  potash, 
which  is  chiefly  in  the  form  of  carbonate,  is  7.2  cents. 

ANALYSES  OF  FERTILIZERS. 

Following  are  analyses  of  certain  fertilizers  which  have  not 
been  previously  noticed  in  our  reports,  being  newly  introduced 
into  this  State : 

10289.  Bowker's  Fairfield  Formula,  a  special  mixture  made 
for  farmers  in  Southport  and  vicinity  by  the  Bowker  Fertilizer 
Co.,  Boston,  Mass.  Sampled  and  sent  by  Simeon  Pease,  Green- 
field Hill. 

10241.  Preston's  Potato  Phosphate,  made  by  the  Preston 
Fertilizer  Co.,  Greenpoint,  Long  Island.  Stock  of  O.  G.  Beard, 
Shelton. 

10188.  Bat  Guano.  Sampled  and  sent  by  Olin  Wheeler, 
Buckland. 

10245.  Fertilizer  made  by  the  Connecticut  Reduction  Co., 
Bridgeport.  Sampled  at  the  factory  and  sent  by  S.  E.  Frisbee, 
Milford. 

10217.  Fertilizer  made  by  the  same  company.  Sampled  and 
sent  by  Joseph  Lee,  Southport. 


ANALYSES    OF    FERTILIZERS. 


Analyses  axd  Valuations. 

Preston's 

Fairfield  Potato 

Formula.  Phosphate.  Bat  Guano. 

10389  10341  10188 

Nitrogen  as  nitrates 90  .34  1.50 

as  ammonia 10              .58 

organic 3.10  1.81  2.8*7 

Total  Nitrogen  found  .. .       4.10  2.15  4.95 

guaranteed    4.00  1.64  

Phosphoric  Acid,  soluble       5.65  4.50  .45 

reverted     2.79  4.65  5.98 

insoluble      .80  1.99  4.93 

Phosphoric  Acid,  total . .       9.24  11.14  11.36 

available  guaranteed      8.00  7.00  

Potash  as  muriate 10.56  9.62  .49 

as  sulphate 1.04  .26 

Total  Potash  found 10.56  10.66  .75 

guaranteed.      8.00  10.00  

Chlorine *  7.23  .20 

Cost  per  ton $28.00  31.00  

Valuation  per  ton $27.92  23.73  

*  Not  determined. 

f  By  the  schedule  used  for  mixed  fertilizers. 


Fertilizer.    Conn. 
Reduction  Co. 


10345 


1031? 


2.65 

3.35 

2.65 

3.35 

2.7 

2.7 

none 

none 

2.53 

200 

1.23 

1.65 

3.76 

3.65 

4-50 

4-50 

.37 

.34 

.37 

.34 

3.06 

306 

* 

* 

18.00 

10.24f 

11.93f 

Availability  of  Organic  Nitrogen. 

Experiments  made  at  this  Station  and  elsewhere  indicate  that 
the  solubility  of  organic  nitrogen  in  an  acid  pepsin  solution  of 
prescribed  strength,  acting  for  a  given  time  at  a  temperature  of 
40°C.,  measures  in  a  general  way  the  availability  of  this  nitrogen 
to  crops.  So  that  if  the  organic  nitrogen  of  any  material  used  as 
a  fertilizer  is  insoluble  or  but  slightly  soluble  in  the  reagent 
named,  it  may  well  be  suspected  that  this  nitrogen  is  of  quite  in- 
ferior value  as  plant  food. 

Five  of  the  fertilizers  whose  analyses  have  just  been  given, 
and  two  others,  have  been  tested  with  i-eference  to  the  solubility 
of  their  organic  nitrogen,  with  the  following  results  : 


station 
No. 

10314 

10311 

10289 

10241 

10245 

10217 

10188 


Brand. 
Dried  Blood  from  Bowker  Fertilizer  Co., 
Tankage  "  "  "  " 

Fairfield  Formula        "  "  " 

Preston's  Potato  Phosphate, 
Fertilizer  made  by  Conn.  Reduction  Co., 

U  11  II  11  u 

Bat  Guano, 


Percentage 
of  Organic 
Nitrogen. 

Percentage 
of  Organic 
Nitrogen 
dissolved 
by  pepsin 
solution. 

Of  100  parts 

of  Organic 

Nitrogen 

there  were 

dissolved 

parts. 

10.70 

9.34 

87.3 

5.12 

3.26 

63.6 

3.10 

2.30 

74.2 

1.81 

1.29 

71.3 

2.65 

.48 

18.1 

3.35 

.57 

17.0 

2.87 

Bone 

0.00 

10      CONNECTICUT   EXPERIxMENT   STATION,    BULLETIN    127. 

The  organic  nitrogen  of  bat  guano  comes  almost  entirely  from 
the  chitinous  wing  cases  of  insects  and  is  known  to  be  very  inert. 
It  is  also  entirely  insoluble  in  pepsin  solution. 

The  samples  of  blood  and  of  tankage  have  the  solubility  gener- 
ally found  in  these  materials. 

The  somewhat  higher  solubility  of  blood-nitrogen  as  com- 
pared with  that  of  the  tankage,  corresponds  with  the  more  ready 
availability  of  the  former  to  crops,  indicated  by  vegetation  experi- 
ments at  this  Station  and  elsewhere. 

More  than  seven-tenths  of  the  organic  nitrogen  of  both  the 
mixed  fertilizers  is  also  soluble  in  pepsin. 

The  nitrogen  in  the  two  samples  of  fertilizers  made  by  the 
Connecticut  Reduction  Co.  is,  without  exception,  largely  insolu- 
ble (80  per  cent,  or  more)  in  pepsin  solution.  This  fact  makes  it 
quite  probable  that  the  nitrogen  of  the  fertilizer  named  is  of  very 
inferior  value  as  plant  food. 

Rape  Seed  Meal. 

10220.  A  sample  of  this  material,  stated  to  be  the  ground 
cake  left  after  expressing  or  extracting  rape  seed  oil,  and  oflered 
as  a  fertilizer  for  tobacco,  was  sent  for  analysis  by  J.  A.  DuBon, 
Poquonock.     It  contains : 

Nitrogen , 5.40  per  cent. 

Phosphoric  Acid 2.16         " 

Potash 99         " 

Street  Sweepings. 

10129.  A  sample  sent  by  P.  P.  Hickey,  Burnside,  is  stated  to 
consist  of  the  sweepings  from  asphalt  pavements  in  Hartford, 
offered  as  a  manure. 

The  analysis  is  as  follows  : 

Water 14.48 

Organic  and  Volatile  Matters.. 10.70 

SandandSoil 66.60 

Other  Mineral  Matter 8.22 


100.00 


In  the  Organic  Matter,  Nitrogen 0.19 

In  the  Mineral  Matter,  Phosphoric  Acid 0.05 

Potash 0.17 


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Connecticut 

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